


Another Argument

by Stormlyht



Series: This Town That Loves Me [12]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Arguing, Emotional Rollercoaster, M/M, Mentions of non-con, This town loves Derek, or at least the main part of it, random townie, stiles not so much, this is the fight
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-23
Updated: 2014-05-23
Packaged: 2018-01-26 06:33:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,111
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1678304
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Stormlyht/pseuds/Stormlyht
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>While Derek is trying to find a new place to live, Stiles is trying to find Derek.  When they finally meet up, Stiles is pissed.  Can their relationship survive the mistakes made so far?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Another Argument

**Author's Note:**

> So as far as chapters go, this one gave me the most trouble, but was also one of the most fun to write. I have this problem where I am very understanding and I know most people aren't as understanding as I am, so I had to call in help to make sure I wasn't giving in too early. Thank you MissRose for your read and suggestions, I really appreciate it! <3 (this does not mean the chapter is all sparkly and edited. :P )
> 
> Also, I had 3 things I wanted to accomplish in this part, but I only managed 2 of them because this kept getting longer and longer. So I'm going to have to add a chapter in my timeline, but I think it's going to turn out very well in the long run.
> 
> Regarding tags, I think I've got most all the triggers there, but if I haven't then please let me know so I can change that.
> 
> Lastly, I originally intended to get this posted earlier in the week as a birthday present for Akuneko42. Sorry that didn't work out as planned. *sweatdrop* For those of you who don't know, Akuneko42 is the whole reason this fic even exists, because it was her repost on tumblr that made this story germinate and create itself in my mind. Happy Belated Birthday, I hope there are a crap more to come! <3

When Derek got the first text he ignored it because he was looking over an apartment and trying to decide if he could work in it with all his betas and not bother the neighbors. When he got the second one he pulled out his phone but didn’t look at it because he was testing the walls of a loft for durability. After another few minutes he wondered why he had his phone in his hand and shoved it in his pocket.

So when he finally pulled out his phone and looked at it he had three missed messages from Stiles and with a small smile he opened them one at a time. The first one was simple. “Where are you?” Stiles wrote. The second one made Derek frown. “Let me ask that correctly. Where the FUCK are you?” It was the last one that had him sending a text back. That one was, “You fucker, where the hell are you? Your stuff is cleared out of the train station, I can’t find you & I don’t even know if you’re alive.”

“Sorry,” Derek texted back. His heart was pounding in his chest because the general tone of the messages did not make him think that Stiles was feeling well. Or maybe he was still mad? He had seemed okay when he’d left that morning to go searching for a new place. “I’m looking for somewhere else to live. V & I cleaned out my place this morning so we wouldn’t leave anything behind. Meet me for food?” When he sent the message he found himself pacing around waiting for the reply from Stiles.

“Burgers. You’re paying,” Stiles sent back. Then another message came through. “Now.”

“I’ll be there in 10,” Derek replied, thanking the lady for showing him the place and practically running out. Stiles sounded angry. Why on earth would Stiles be angry?

When he’d gone to talk to Stiles the night before he hadn’t been planning on doing anything sexual. He had wanted to talk, but seeing Stiles lying on the bed, pale as death, heart barely beating, Derek had lost it. Terrified that he’d grossly misjudged Stiles’ injuries, he’d shaken Stiles until he opened his eyes and the relief at seeing him looking right back at Derek was overwhelming.

What the hell would he have done if anything permanent had happened to Stiles? What would he have done if he’d pissed Stiles off so badly he left and bled out in the jeep? All kinds of scenarios flashed through his mind, all the times he might have pushed Stiles away when he shouldn’t and he’d lost control. It was stupid, and awful, and Stiles didn’t need it, but a part of Derek did. To know that Stiles was still okay, and still responsive to him. The kiss was supposed to be it. Just one kiss, but when Stiles groaned and leaned up into him Derek’s brain short circuited.

Leaching pain transferred some of the floaty feeling that Stiles had had and then there was no stopping. His face flushed just thinking about what he’d done, and when he arrived at Stiles’ favorite burger joint and got out of his car, he schooled his features to his normal mask of neutrality. For one because he needed to see what was wrong with Stiles first, and two because Stiles was sitting on the bench outside glaring at him.

“Hi,” he started, but Stiles put up a hand.

“You don’t get to talk first. First we go in and get food. Then I get to talk. Then maybe, you get to talk. Understand?” Stiles ground the words out and Derek nodded at him, heart sinking. “Good.”

Stiles stood up and went to the door, opening it with his left hand and barely holding it for Derek as he entered. It felt like a door was about to close on his life, and Derek grabbed it quickly, unwilling to lose this thing he was just starting to get with Stiles already.

They didn’t talk as they were seated, only spoke to the waiter when they ordered, and Stiles didn’t let Derek even begin to talk until the food was at the table. Derek sat in complete silence, confused and uncertain for fifteen minutes, wondering what on earth Stiles was going to say.

“Okay,” Stiles said as he ate a fry. “The first thing is, where the hell were you this morning?”

Derek hadn’t stopped looking at Stiles, not really sure he could eat because he was so twisted up inside. “I left. You said it was okay.”

“No I didn’t,” Stiles frowned. “I wasn’t awake when you left. I woke up and you were gone. Long enough that the bed wasn’t even warm anymore.”

Frowning, Derek shook his head. “Your father was coming up the stairs. I told you he was probably going to check up on you. You said fine, goodbye.” He thought back to the morning. Could Stiles have been sleep talking? “He did. Check up on you.” Just in case Stiles didn’t know.

Crossing his arms, Stiles leaned back. “So you’re saying we had a conversation this morning that I don’t remember? Maybe because, I don’t know, I was having lingering pain pill effects? Maybe you should have come back, made sure I was okay? Never occurred to you?”

Anger, a feeling of betrayal, and when Derek took a deep breath to calm himself, he also smelled terror. “I… no. It didn’t occur to me. I was thinking of your father, and the things I have to do today. You were safe, I left.” What else was he supposed to do? How did he know what he was supposed to do when he hadn’t really gotten the chance before to have a relationship?

“Okay. Bad move Derek. When your boyfriend is injured and drugged up and asleep, make damn certain he’s awake before you dash out on him because when he wakes up he’s going to wonder where you are. Or just wonder if he’d gone crazy the night before.”

Opening his mouth to say something else, Stiles held up his hand, uncrossed his arms and began eating his burger. Violently. He nodded at Derek’s food, and Derek grabbed his sandwich to eat. It tasted like dust mixed with anxiety. His mouth was too dry, his hands shaking slightly, and what he really wanted to do was snap at Stiles. Or curl up around him. Both feelings were warring for the moment.

A few minutes went by, Stiles taking his anger out on his food and Derek barely able to swallow his own. Finally, Stiles put his burger down and wiped his hands off on his napkin. “Why’d you…” he glanced around. “Do that stuff last night? Surely you knew I wasn’t in the best condition for that.”

Derek choked and nodded. “That was… it shouldn’t have happened like that.”

“No,” Stiles snapped. “It shouldn’t! We were fighting! You were in the doghouse! I was angry! You can’t just kiss your way out of that hole Derek Hale! You have to talk about things before there is… that!”

“I know!” Derek snapped back, tension too tightly wound around his body. “I know that! I didn’t mean to do that -“

“That doesn’t make it okay!” Stiles’ voice was raising and a few people looked over at them. “It really, really doesn’t! You know what makes it okay? *Not* doing it in the first place!”

“I made a mistake!” Derek tried to keep his voice even but he wasn’t really succeeding. “I do that, you know I do that!”

“Yeah, more and more as the days go by. Are you *hoping* we won’t work? Because let me tell you Derek, sometimes I really think you’re purposely sabotaging this relationship.”

“I’m not! I don’t know what to do to make you believe that, but I don’t!” Derek felt a growl in the back of his throat and didn’t let it out. He had to be calm. If only being calm around Stiles’ anger was something he knew how to do. He’d never been very good at that.

“Are you sure? Because all your actions these last two days have me confused.”

“I told you I wasn’t,” Derek growled.

“Do I need to detail all the things you’ve done wrong?” Stiles asked.

“No you don’t young man,” an elderly lady said, walking right up to their table. Stiles looked at her in disbelief and Derek felt the same way. “I don’t know what you’re so upset about, but Derek doesn’t owe you anything.”

“Excuse me,” Stiles said as he narrowed his eyes at her. “This is not your conversation, so I think you should butt out of it.”

“Mrs. Gia,” Derek interjected softly, trying to get her attention away from Stiles and onto him. “I’m sorry for Stiles’ behavior but this really is a private affair.”

“Oh Derek,” she said as she turned to look at him. “You were always so sweet.”

“Are you kidding me right now? He’s not sweet! He’s a moron who needs to learn basic human interactions!” Stiles snapped and Derek turned a glare at him.

“You’re out of line,” Mrs. Gia said. “Don’t you dare suggest there’s something wrong with Derek. You have no idea what this boy has done for this town. The things you can’t even begin to know about.”

“I think I know more about what Derek’s done for this town that you do lady,” Stiles snapped. “I mean, I know more about him than you could even -“

“No you don’t!” she interrupted and Derek stared at them completely baffled. Was Stiles really yelling at an old lady? Derek’s mother would have beat him if he’d talked to someone like that. Grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and shaken him a few times.

“Yes I do! You might have known little Derek Hale, but I know the adult, and let me tell you lady, he’s screwing up on so many levels.” Her hand whipped out and Derek was out of his seat holding her wrist gently before she could hit Stiles across the cheek.

“Excuse me,” Derek said firmly. “I think this conversation you two are having is over.” No one hit Stiles. No one. Not in front of Derek. Not if Derek could do something about it.

“Derek,” Mrs. Gia chided, eyes rolling slightly. “He’s being so disrespectful.”

“Right now Mrs. Gia, so are you.” Even though his heart was pounding fiercely in his chest and he felt the hair at the nape of his neck standing on end, he was able to gently let go of her hand.

“You know what?” Stiles said, sliding out of the seat. “I can’t even do this here. I can’t even go out in public with you. I mean, if it get’s right down to it, this town isn’t interested in me having any kind of real relationship with you. This is the most…” He trailed off and Derek felt his stomach plummet. Was Stiles breaking up with him over this? Derek looked right over at Stiles, but he was quickly moving away and heading for the door. “Fuck this,” he muttered.

“Stiles!” Derek called. He had every intention of running after him, but Mrs. Gia got in front of him.

“Let him go dear. I don’t know what you see in him anyway. Why can’t you find a nice, young lady?”

Derek couldn’t run over her, and Stiles was out the door and running for his jeep. Turning a growl on her, Derek snapped. “Because he is a *nice* young man! Because he thinks about other people before he thinks of himself. I like Stiles because he is kind and loyal, fierce in the face of overwhelming odds, doesn’t abandon his friends, and even though we are having problems, he keeps coming back to try to fix the things I break! You want to know why I like Stiles?” He looked around the room, at every person who was staring at him. “I like Stiles because he doesn’t give up on *me*!” Reaching into his wallet, he grabbed a twenty and slapped it down on the table before moving around Mrs. Gia and rushing out of the room and into his car.

He had to get to Stiles. Now. They couldn’t end things here.

*

When he found Stiles, the boy was in his room again and Derek crawled up onto the roof, sitting outside the open window and clearing his throat so Stiles knew he was there. Stiles didn’t even look up from his computer, which he wasn’t really using, but was instead staring at with an intensity that Derek could see from the set of Stiles’ shoulders and how straight his back was. They stayed like that for a while, Derek trying to get used to the scents of them having been together on Stiles’ bed, and the waves of anxiety coming from Stiles, anxiety that Derek knew he put there.

Finally Stiles said, “You can’t come in.”

“Okay.” Derek wasn’t going to cross boundaries again.

“You did the wrong thing. What you did last night was… I couldn’t give consent, you know? I thought I was… by myself, at least half the time.”

Derek’s stomach squeezed. “I didn’t -“

“I get that,” Stiles said. “I mean, I don’t really.” Turning in his seat, he looked right at Derek. “I mean, couldn’t you tell I wasn’t all there?”

“Yes.” Derek would take this blame. He deserved it.

“Okay. Yes. Just like that. Yes.” Stiles flailed his hands around a few times and stood. “Yes he says. He knows he could have walked right into the realm of rape last night. If I had been a girl I could so get away with saying that.”

“I… know. I mean, I know that *now*.” At the time, he hadn’t been thinking that way. He hadn’t thought of Stiles at all.

“We’re fighting Derek!” Stiles snapped. Turning so he could look right at Derek, Stiles said, “You get that right? Right now we’re teetering on the edge of a massive break up so violent that I could want to never see you again because of the last 24 hours. I mean, I just want to hit you!”

“You’re right!” Derek snapped, turning fully to stare at Stiles. “You’re right, I messed up, I’m sorry, okay?”

Stiles frowned and then relaxed. “Finally!” He tossed his hands up in the air. “It’s past time!”

“What? Past time for what?” Derek asked, confused.

“Past time you apologized Derek. Do you not know the words? You needed to say it last night, you needed to say it this morning.” Stiles walked over to Derek and leaned on the window sill.

“Oh.” Was it really that simple? “I’m sorry. You’re right, I don’t think to say it, there… there hasn’t been anyone to say it to for so long now.” He shrugged. “Does that mean… are we good?”

“No. Soon, but… not yet. Look, do you know why I was angry last night?”

“Because I wasn’t looking after you first?” Derek asked.

“Because I was hurt, trying to protect myself and maybe you guys and you were ignoring me completely. You never asked me if I was okay, and if what you said is right, you thought you had when you didn’t. Which meant you wondered it, but never got the words out. Get the words out next time Derek.”

“Alright. I will.” If he had to he’d start saying everything he could think of when he thought them.

“Last night? That kind of thing doesn’t happen again. I mean… the whole you having me when I don’t know that it’s really you thing. You have to wait. I want to know every time you’re touching me. I want to be involved in that experience. Now I have vague memories of your mouth on my dick and I didn’t really get to watch you because there were three of you and I think I checked out when I came. You owe me for that. Like… a lot.”

Derek felt the tips of his ears warm. He nodded. “Okay. I’m… look, I… can I talk?” This was really frustrating, having Stiles dictate the pace of the conversation.

“Yeah.”

“I needed… I messed up and I was scared. When I came to check up on you, you looked… well, you looked like you were barely alive. It just freaked me out. I… I needed to touch you, to make sure you were going to be okay. It was,” he searched for the words because he wasn’t used to explaining his feelings. He just felt them. “I needed to touch you because I needed to know you were going to survive. It wasn’t because I was trying to apologize with my mouth or anything, but because I was upset and frantic and so relieved when I knew you were actually okay.” He lifted his hand to touch Stiles, but paused, uncertain if it would be okay.

Stiles reached for the hand and placed it on his cheek and Derek sagged in relief. His fingers curled around Stiles’ skin, the heartbeat fast but so rich in his hand.

“You know I want this, right? This relationship thing. It’s important to me, but I need to know you’re invested,” Stiles said. “I need to not feel like I’m second best to other people or even second best to your own physical needs.”

Listening to the words, Derek let them sink into him and he nodded. “Okay. Okay Stiles, I won’t. If… if I’m starting to do that, you have to point it out to me though, because I’m not doing it intentionally. Can you meet me halfway here?”

Grinning, Stiles nodded. “Yeah. I can. And the morning thing? Don’t just disappear. Leave me a note, send me a text, make sure I’m actually aware when you speak to me. I need to know what happens to you.”

“I’m sorry. I will next time.” Leaning in a little, Derek took a deep breath, letting the scent of Stiles wash over him. “Does this mean we’re good?”

“Yeah. Mostly.” Stiles grinned. “But you can’t come into the room until you promise me one thing.”

“Anything,” Derek breathed, and Stiles laughed.

“You’re going to regret that. Guess what Derek? You have to promise to tell me what the hell that mate thing is all about. You have to promise to tell me all about it tonight or you get to stay on the other side of this here window.”

Shit. The pit of Derek’s stomach sank and disappeared completely on him.


End file.
